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Demolition
Demolition was a professional wrestling tag team most prominent during the late 1980s and early 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) made up of Ax (Bill Eadie), Smash (Barry Darsow), and later Crush (Brian Adams). In WWF, Demolition were three-time Tag Team Champions, and hold the records for both the single longest tag title reign and the most combined days as reigning champions. Beginning in 2007, Ax and Smash reunited for several appearances at various independent shows and legends conventions. Career World Wrestling Federation (1987–1991) Formation and early push (1987–1988) Randy Colley and Bill Eadie created the Demolition gimmick and look around the start of 1987 while working for the World Wrestling Federation. After only a few matches, however, Colley was replaced with Barry Darsow for reasons which vary depending on the source. (Either he was recognizable as the former Moondog Rex or there was a contract dispute with the WWF which led to his leaving the company.) Demolition domination After debuting with manager Lucious Johnny V, the team was eventually paired with Mr. Fuji, who began to wear Demolition-style paint around his eyes. He led them to their first WWF Tag Team Title when they defeated Strike Force (Tito Santana and Rick Martel) at WrestleMania IV on March 27, 1988. As champions, they easily defeated a number of the top teams of the WWF, which at the time had a very talent-rich and hotly contested tag division. Demolition held the titles for a record 478 days in their first reign, until The Brain Busters (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard) were able to take the titles in a two-out-of-three-falls match on Saturday Night's Main Event in July 1989. Before losing the titles, Ax and Smash had engaged in a lengthy feud with the Powers of Pain (the Warlord and the Barbarian) that took an odd turn when the increasingly popular Demolition were backstabbed by Fuji at the 1988 Survivor Series, with Fuji joining up with the Powers of Pain. Ax and Smash also memorably squared off against each other as entrants #1 and #2 at the 1989 Royal Rumble before being joined in the ring by André the Giant. Demolition regained the titles from the Brain Busters in October 1989, then in December lost them to Bobby Heenan's new team of Andre the Giant and Haku, known as The Colossal Connection. Ax and Smash reclaimed the titles at WrestleMania VI to become three-time champions. Crush In 1990 Brian Adams joined the team as Crush. In kayfabe, this was related to their new (heel) attitude, but it was actually because Eadie had developed an allergy to shellfish (which he attributes to his constant trips to Japan) which hospitalized him, and WWF owner and head booker Vince McMahon wanted to add a third member to the team just in case the illness put Eadie out of action for an extended period of time. Crush soon took a more active role, teaming with Smash while Ax faded into the background, becoming more of a manager. At this time Demolition used the so-called "Freebird rule" to allow any two members to wrestle the matches. Smash and Crush defended the titles at August's ''SummerSlam'', losing them to The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart), after interference by The Road Warriors, who had signed with the WWF a month earlier. They never recaptured the titles after this loss. Soon after, due to The Road Warriors now being on the WWF roster, Demolition's popularity began to decline, despite regaining the managerial services of Mr. Fuji and Ax's departure in the fall of 1990. The team lost a final match to Genichiro Tenryu and Koji Kitao at WrestleMania VII in March 1991 before they broke up and the members went their separate ways. Crush would turn face upon returning to his original promotion, Pacific Northwest Wrestling (while still using the Demolition gimmick), then return to the WWF and begin a run as the popular "Kona Crush", while Smash would remain a heel, becoming "The Repo Man". Post WWF After leaving the WWF, Eadie began using the name Axis the Demolisher on the independent circuit and took in original "Smash" gimmick owner Randy Colley as well as Carmine Azzato under the name of Demolition Blast in an attempt to resurrect the Demolition name and gimmick. They were sent a cease and desist letter by the WWF once they found out. In the mid 1990s, Bill Eadie filed a lawsuit against the WWF for the rights of the "Demolition" name and gimmick but lost. Smash recently inked a deal with Jakks Pacific to make a Demolition Legends action figure. The team was referenced at SummerSlam 2006 when The McMahons performed their finishing move, The Demolition Decapitation, on Shawn Michaels during their tag match against D-Generation X. On April 1, 2007, Darsow and Eadie reunited for the first time in 16 years at a "Meet the Legends" event in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. On August 13, 2007, Brian Adams was found unconscious in his Tampa, Florida home. Adams' wife found him not breathing in his bed, and summoned paramedics. The wrestler could not be revived, and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police could not immediately determine a cause of death, but noted no signs of injury. On September 29, 2007, Darsow and Eadie reunited as the tag team Demolition for the first time in 16 years in Orlando Florida. They once again became tag team champions in the UXW wrestling federation. Championships/Accomplishments *'Pro Wrestling Illustrated' :*Ranked #'59' of the 100 best tag teams during the PWI Years in 2003. *'World Wrestling Federation' :*WWF World Tag Team Championship (3 times) *'WWE Magazine' :*Ranked The greatest World Tag Team Champions in WWE history In wrestling *'Finishing and signature maneuvers' :*''The Demolisher/Demolition Decapitation'' (Combination backbreaker hold & top-rope elbow drop) :*Double double axe handle :*Bearhug hold, attack combination :*Double clothesline *'Managers' :*Luscious Johnny V :*Mr. Fuji *'Theme music' :Demolition had one of the most distinctive pieces of theme music in the late 80s WWF. "Demolition" was a piece of hard-driven rock music by Rick Derringer, whose lyrics introduced both members of the team ("Here comes the Ax, and here comes the Smasher"). The song was eventually released on Piledriver - The Wrestling Album 2. External links * WWE.com Profile * Profile * Demolition at Online World of Wrestling Category:World Wrestling Entertainment teams and stables Category:Independent promotions teams and stables Category:1987 debuts Category:1991 disbandments Category:WWE World Tag Team Champions Category:World Wrestling Entertainment alumni Category:Billtown Championship Wrestling alumni